Pope supports pro-life campaign

13 May, 2013 - Pope Francis greeted thousands of prolife supporters who had gathered in Rome on Sunday, praising efforts to secure legal protection for unborn babies in their earliest stages of life. “I greet the participants of the March for Life which took place this morning in Rome and invite everyone to stay focused on the important issue of respect for human life, from the moment of conception,” said the Pope in St. Peter’s Square. He addressed the pro-life advocates in his comments at the weekly midday ‘Regina Coeli’ prayer, at the end of the canonization Mass during which he declared over 800 new saints. The pro-life activists began their anti-abortion march earlier on Sunday at Rome’s Colosseum and concluded it at Castel Sant’Angelo, close to St. Peter’s Square. “I am pleased to recall the petition that today takes place in many Italian parishes, in order to support the initiative European ‘One of Us’ to ensure legal protection to the embryo, protecting every human being from the first moment of its existence,” the Pope said. He announced that the Vatican will host events dedicated to Pope John Paul II’s 1995 encyclical “Evangelium Vitae” on June 15 and 16. Pope Francis said this occasion would be “a special moment for those who have cared about the defense of the sanctity of human life.” Referring to the beatification of Italian priest Father Luigi Novarese the previous day, May 11 at the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls in Rome, the Pope said the founder of the lay associations, the Apostolate of the Suffering and the Silent Workers of the Cross, was an “exemplary priest, who was able to renew pastoral care of the sick by making them active participants in the Church.